Chiropractor taking me for a ride...

[Lalaland01]

I've never been to one so I don't know what to expect. I've been having a relatively mild but annoying pain on my right side of my lower back. I decided to go see a chiropractor (good reviews on Google) to sort it out before it gets worse.

First appointment he said my pelvis was a bit "lopsided", he stretched my legs and said one was longer than the other one. He made me lie facing down on this table, he raised the table a bit and then dropped it down. He did this twice and said that had fixed it (?). He then did like 5 min with this ultrasound. That was it.

Went again yesterday and he just placed two wooden blocks behind my pelvis (this time me facing up), pulled my arms up and then again the ultrasound bit for 5 min but he did it on the other side of where my pain is (!). The appointment lasted 15 min tops.

Has anyone else been to the chiropractor??? Is this normal? I feel like he is taking me for a ride but maybe this is normal?

I put chiropractors in the same bracket as homeopaths.

Except one wrong crack and a chiropractor can paralyse you.

That sounds like a complete rip off. I’ve been to a few different ones - Ostepath, chiropractor, sports therapist and all of them manipulate the muscles/bones in some way. I wouldn’t go again

See an osteopath....chiropracters are usually hopeless !

Argh posted too soon
I would try to find a different one. Do you have any friends or family who could recommend one?

They're all so different in approach BUT this does sound ridiculous and like he's spouting generic crap.

I have been seeing a truly amazing chiropractor over the last two years, the best I've ever had (and I've seen a LOT over the years!!) - he's made an amazing difference to my quality of life as a chronic, severe neck and back pain sufferer.

It's MUCH more involved than yours. For example, he'll start off by doing 15 minute of deep tissue massage around the tight muscles to relieve and loosen them up, then do a number of adjustments with me lying face down, on my back, on each side, couch at different declines, sometimes me standing up etc. I can feel the immediate benefit after every session and he is guided by me totally as to how often I go.

Go to a sports physio.

I have an osteopath who is brillian. I'm pushing into the quack category as she uses acupuncture as part of the treatment, but it works for me. Each to their own, but I've never got on with chiropractors personally.

As previous poster said, go to a sports physio. You shouldn’t need more than two visits.

Thanks for all your replies! It sounds like he is taking me for a ride... I think I am going to follow my instinct and cancel the following appointment!

I bloody love the cracks at a chiro appt, but admit it's never had any long term positive impact for me personally.

Similar to pp an osteopath sorted me out in the end. I needed to strengthen weak areas in order to stop the pain. A chiro simply cracked me back to shape and was a temporary fix without the muscle strength.

Chiropractors are quacks who take everyone for a ride. DP had a similar experience to you OP (having never been to one before, having not researched chiro generally). It was complete woo, no scientific basis for any of the "adjustments" the chiropractor talked about but a lot of emphasis on the necessity on spending lots of money indefinitely.

Book a physio instead!

And honestly the thing you need is a set of simple (but probably tedious) exercises that you can do yourself at home. A physio will tell you what to do, check you're getting on with them and leave you to it. It's about giving you the tools to heal yourself rather than having to keep going back for expensive appointments.

If he's a chiropractor, then by definition, he's taking you for a ride.

Another one recommending a proper physiotherapist

I've been seeing a chiropractor since July 2020 and it has been life changing. Due to dramatic weight loss, I was suffering from really bad back pain and couldn't even sit on our sofa for more than 30 mins. I was completely out of alignment and had 2 sessions a week for the first month and I'm now on one appointment a month as part of maintenance.

My body is still changing and I wouldn't be without my sessions. I am lucky that work pay for it through our benefits but even if they didn't, I'd be happy to pay myself.

I think it depends on who the chiropractor is, mine was recommended to me. I'd been to a physio for the same problem and it made no difference at all.

Bob and Brad are the guys we all need for aches and pains and self management of back conditions.

They are brilliant. And their videos are free!

Like the other poster I've found my chiropractor life-changing. Appointments are much shorter than with physio's and it's best not to compare.

My chiropractor not only sorted out my back/neck/shoulder but she diagnosed my underactive thyroid before my GP thought of it as a possible cause for a wide range of symptoms.

Sadly, she's moved back to Denmark, which is a long way to go for an appointment.

Would they be Bob and Brad, the greatest physiotherapists on the internet?

I wouldn't go near a chiropractor.
The wrong one can do serious damage.

Definitely try an osteopath.

Becareful with chiropractors, i had a bad back/sciatica, painkillers from docs, couple of sessions with chiro who couldn't make me click in certain ways as my body just wouldn't, end up going to a consultant as it just wasn't getting better, explain all to the consultant who has a fit that the chiro even touched me with my symptoms as I had a slipped disc that was pressing on my spinal cord! I stick to massage now.

I know this isn't the answer for everyone and it doesn't replace a proper investigation by a qualified doctor.

But I had a lot of niggling back pain, I went to physio, chiropractor & Co.
In the end what really made a difference was doing core exercises and keeping it up through some fun classes at the gym.

When I stop for a few weeks (holidays, laziness or just to busy) the niggling pai is back.

Same for me. They told me I'd need to go 3x a week for a month then 2x a week for a month to sort it. £500!

Then I saw an osteopath for a few sessions who explained it was posture/ lack of movement, manipulated a few muscles and showed me some exercises and it cleared up straight away

@CharityShopChic

I put chiropractors in the same bracket as homeopaths.

Except one wrong crack and a chiropractor can paralyse you.

this. have you tried a physiotherapist. or an oesteopath.

@ithoughtisawapuddycat

I've been seeing a chiropractor since July 2020 and it has been life changing. Due to dramatic weight loss, I was suffering from really bad back pain and couldn't even sit on our sofa for more than 30 mins. I was completely out of alignment and had 2 sessions a week for the first month and I'm now on one appointment a month as part of maintenance.

My body is still changing and I wouldn't be without my sessions. I am lucky that work pay for it through our benefits but even if they didn't, I'd be happy to pay myself.

I think it depends on who the chiropractor is, mine was recommended to me. I'd been to a physio for the same problem and it made no difference at all.

Theres no such thing as 'out of alignment' - its a term made up by chiropractors to make customers think they are being 'fixed'. Like pretty much everyone else here I think Chiropractors are quacks.